I’m having such a grrr day at work. With every passing minute I’m considering the feasibility of quitting. I have to keep reminding myself that these are crippling economic times and I should be grateful to have a job. Sadly, that argument is wearing thin. Watch this space for an announcement that I finally gave in/gave up. The fact that I’m even publishing my sentiments in this public forum shows how dire the situation has gotten.

Anyhow, enough of my moping. This weekend, I spent both Saturday and Sunday in the environs of Covent Garden and its bead shops. I also did a bit of shopping for a black spring jacket but had no luck. I want it to be black as I intend to turn out some spectacularly colored lace shawls/scarflettes and I want a jacket that will match it all.

So while enjoying the fat-free indulgence that is pick’n mix bead shopping, I decided that the art that I’ll teach myself before my 30th is jewelry-making. And as I’m a huge fan of instant gratification, it occurred to me that starting an Etsy shop selling stitch markers might be fun. I recognize that selling stitch markers on Etsy in no way provides a viable alternative to my current job but selling my wares on Etsy might keep me in beads and maybe a few skeins of yarn…

Anyhow, my weekend was not completely spent wondering the streets of Covent Garden. I did manage to get some knitting done. I finished Ishbel, my first time working with laceweight yarn and it’s absolutely lovely. It’s apple green in color though one might call it lime. You can see now why I will need a black spring jacket :-).

Today I was very excited to receive my Rockin’ Sock Club package. It was shipped out last Friday but it had taken the first shipment in January nearly a month to arrive, therefore, I hadn’t got my hopes up waiting for the package. So what a lovely surprise that it arrived only six days from shipping! This time around I hadn’t read any of the spoilers on ravelry and it was nice to see my March package with virgin eyes.

I love the colorway! I can’t make these yet though; I feel bad that I haven’t even start my January socks. Good thing I had the Cookie A sock design workshop at Socktopus this past weekend because now I’m very inspired to knit socks again.

Cookie A

Speaking of Cookie A, I absolutely loved the workshop last Saturday and I can’t wait to have some time to sit down with my graph paper to design some Caryl socks. The design I have in my head is somewhat similar to Kai-Mei in Cookie’s new book, Sock Innovation. I can’t wait to get a copy of the book. I’ll be at Loop on 5 April for the book launch and signing.

A Bit of Kinnearing

I was just in the kitchen at work and saw one of my colleagues wearing a very nice sweater (store-bought of course). I liked the look of it and now that I’m into designing, I thought it might make some good inspiration for a future design.Anyhow, I took a sly picture of her.

Why did I have a camera in the office kitchen you ask? I happened to be in the kitchen to photograph my new sock club package (above). I get my mail at work and the work camera is way better than mine (10.1 megapixels vs mine which is 4 megapixels) and the kitchen faces the docks (I work near Tower Bridge) and gets lots of natural light.

You might also be wondering why this colleague is holding hands with another. Well, they happen to be enjoying a bit of an office romance. Tea break and hand holding anyone… I prefer cookies with my tea personally 😉

I’ve finally recovered more or less from Paddy’s Day. What a day of boozing!!! I spent my Saturday detoxing from a week of extravagant eating and drinking; my allergies were horrendous and I felt nauseous. Luckily I recovered on Sunday and now I’m back at work (for better or worse). The bf was visiting for the week and I broke pretty much every Lenten resolution. I’ve decided that I’ll add an extra week to Lent to make up for my badness.

I also got very little knitting done. I spent Paddy’s Day working on my minimalist cardigan. I think that knitting throughout the 12-hour + drinking session kept me fairly sober. I never got very drunk and I’m happy to say that there were no drunken mistakes upon inspection the next day. 🙂

I thought I’d get so much completed on my week off but except for a hat that ended up too small for my big hair, I did nothing really. I gifted the hat to the bf’s friend, Melanie, as it fit her well.

I’m taking this coming week off from work as my boyfriend is coming over from the states (It’s Spring Break at U of Wisconsin!). Anyhow, while I plan to spend lots of time with him, I plan to add a bit of knitting into the mix :-).

I have a bunch of UFOs that I want to work on. I’ll probably manage a few things for malabrigo march but I want to get my minimalist cardi done. Also I don’t want to be stuck with an orphan sock so I’m going to finish up my second hourglass sock. Then there’s Hey Teach. I’ve been stuck at about 75% progress for months now. It’s time to get that done done and done.